Shaft-support.



No. 736,508. PATENTBD AUG. 18, 1903.

' B. R. BDsoN.

y SHAFT SUPPORT. APPLIOATION FILED DEO. 26, 1901. No MODEL.

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W/ TNE SSE S UNiThD STATES Patented August 18, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

EUGENE R. EDSON, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE EDSON REDUCTIONMACHINERY COMPANY, OF AUGUSTA, MAINE, A COR- PORATION OF MAINE.

SHAFT'I-SUPPORT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 736,508, dated August18, 1903.

Application filed December 26, 1901'. Serial ITO-[87,2971 (No model.)

To @5l whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, EUGENE R. EnsoN, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga andState of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inShaft- Supports; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same.

This improvement relates to improvements in shaft-supportaand pertainsmore especially to improved means for carrying and preventing wabblingof a vertically arranged stirring shaft employed in stirring materialwhich is being rendered or reduced and avoiding detrimentalobjectionable friction Within the receptacle wherein the material istreated, and thereby avoid the ignition of inflammable or explosivegases or vapors.

With this general object in View and to realize other advantageshereinafter appearing the invention consists in certain features ofconstruction and combinations of parts hereinafter described, andpointed out in the claims.

The accompanying drawing is a side elevation, largely in centralvertical section, of apparatus embodying my invention.

Referring to the drawing, a designates a normally closed tank orreceptacle Which'is cylindrical and provided at the top and one sidewith a charging-aperture 2, at which the material which is to treatedWithin the receptacle is introduced into the receptacle. The aperture 2is normally closed by a suitably-applied cover b.

The receptacle ct is provided at the bottom and centrally with adownwardly-extending tube or duct c, arranged to discharge down- Wardly,and the bottom 3 of the chamber of the receptacle declines toward theoutletforming duct, so as to facilitate the flow of oil or liquidextracted from material treated within the receptacle to the said outletand to equally facilitate the discharge of the residue. The duct c isnormally closed at its lower and discharging end by a suitably-applieddoor cl.

A piper@ for supplying naphtha or other solvent to the chamber of thereceptacle ct is arranged to discharge into the said chamber and has avalve 4, which is normally closed.

A suitably-applied drain-pipe f is arranged to conduct liquid which hasbeen extracted within the receptacle a from the said receptacle. Thepipe f is provided with a valve 5, which is normally closed. Thepipefhas its inner end in open relation with the duct c, andconsequently with the chamber of the receptacle ct. The liquid which isextracted from the material treated Within the receptacle a gravitatesto the bottom of the said receptacle and flows adown the latter into theduct c and thence through the drain-pipe f.

The receptacle o is provided at its upper end with a vapor-conductingpipe or flue g, which has a normally closed valve 6.

The stirring-shaft 7c is arranged vertically and centrally of thereceptacle a and extends from above and near the duct c upwardly andthrough and a suitable distance above the top of the receptacle a. Theshaft 7c is provided within the receptacle a with any suitable number oflaterally-projecting and radially-extending arms m, arranged at suitableintervals vertically and adapted to stir or disintegrate or otherwiseact upon any material which is undergoing treatment in the receptacle a.The shaft is subjected, therefore, to considerable strain endwise, aswell as laterally, of the shaft, and means which will adequately supportthe shaft with little or no friction upon the shaft is quite important.

A bevel-gear lis operatively mounted upon the shaft 7c a suitabledistance above the top of the receptacle a. The gear Z is rigid andpreferably integral with the upper end of an upright frame or stand m,formed upon and preferably integralwith a turn-table n, which is mountedupon the upper side of a tableforming flange 7, formed upon andexternally of the upper end of a vertically-arranged tubular guide andshaft-steadying piece o, which is rigid with the top of the receptacle aand loosely embraces the shaft la. Preferably the gear Z and the standor frame m are operatively connected with the shaft by the IOO Idescribed displacement of the shaft is pre-1 Well-known means of grooveand feather i and are fixed to the shaft by'set-screws fu.. Theshaft-steadying piece ois provided at its upper end with an externalannular tableforming ange 7, which bears the turn-table fn. Antifriction-balls h are interposed' between the tables n and 7 and are arrangedwithin registering annular recesses formed in the opposing sides of thesaid tables. The table fn isprovided with an annular rim or member 8,which extends in under the table 7, and antifriction-balls j areinterposed between the rim 8 and the table 7 and arranged withinregistering annular recesses formed in the opposing sides of ythe saidmembers 7 and 8. The turn-table 'n is therefore adequately supported,and vertical displacement of the said table is rendered impossible, andthe balls h and j also afford lateral bearing to the table. that theshaft lo is suspended from the turntable, and by theconstruction-hereinbefore vented without wear upon the shaft, twistingor wabbling of the shaft is reduced to a minimum, and the necessity ofsnugly-fitting bearings for the shaft Within the recep `tacle a isavoided.

A shaft-steadying framelr, mounted upon and secured to the bottom of thereceptacle a around the upper end of the duct c, is provided centrallywith an annular member 12, which loosely embraces and is adapted tosteady the shaft 7c. The shaft 7c has its lower end reduced in diameterwhere it extends into the shaft-steadying piece r to reduce any frictionbetween the said member 7' and the shaft k to a minimum. The shaft la atthe upper end of the central member 12 of the shaft-steadying frame/r isprovided with a downwardly-facing and downwardly-flaring externalannular shoulder 13, which overlaps, but does not bear upon, thecorrespondinglyshaped upper edge of the said member 12. It will beobserved that the shaft 7s is suspended or supported from the elevatedtable 7 through the medium of the turn-table n, and the frame r does notparticipate in bearing the load of the shaft, but performs the functionof steadying the shaft. The gear l It will be observed, therefore,

the shaft lo at the upper end of the shaft-A `steadying member o; butthe application of stuffing-boxes and the packing of joints are too wellknown to require description or further illustration in thisapplication. tion of the bevel-gear Z a suitable distance from the tablen by the frame or stand 'm is, however, not unimportant, because therebyconvenient access is afforded to the stuiiingbox t.

What I claim is- 1. The combination, with an upright shaft, of ashaft-steadying tubular member surrounding the shaft, and provided witha stationary table; a stuffing box around the shaft at the upper end ofsaid shaft-steadying member; a turn-table mounted on said stationarytable, and means for rotating the said shaft, comprising a wheelsupported from and a suitable distance above the turntable andoperatively connected with the shaft.

2. The combination, with an upright shaft, of a shaft-steadying tubularmember o surrounding the shaft and provided with a stationary table 7; astufng-boxt around the shaft at the'upper end of the saidshaft-steadying member; a turn-table mounted upon the said stationarytable; a gear supported from and a suitable distance above the4turn-table and operatively connected with the shaft, and adriving-shaft operatively provided with a pinion meshing with the saidgear.

Signed by me at Cleveland, Ohio, this 10th day of December, 1901.

EUGENE R. EDSON.

Witnesses:

C. H. DORER, TELsA SCHWARTZ.

The separa-

